ays treated her with respect, and never made love."

III

It was at the end of November, 1858, that Lola landed once more in the
United Kingdom. She began her campaign there in Dublin, where,
twenty-four years earlier, she had lived as a young bride, danced at
the Castle, and flirted with the Viceroy's aides-de-camp. During the
interval a crowded chapter, and one full of colour and life and
movement, had been written.

All being in readiness, the public were duly informed of her plans by
an advertisement:

MADAME LOLA MONTEZ, COUNTESS OF
LANDSFELD, will give a Lecture on "America and its
People," at the Round Room, Rotundo, on Wednesday
evening, December 8. Reserved seats, 3s.; unreserved, 2s. 6d.

The debut would appear to have been highly successful. "The
announcement of the lecture," said a report the next morning, "created
a degree of interest almost unparalleled among the Dublin public. The
platform was regularly carried by a throng of admirers, giving
Madame Lola Montez barely space to reach her desk. She was listened to
with enraptured attention and warm manifestations of approval"; and
"very properly, an ill-bred fellow, who exclaimed, 'hee-haw' at
regular intervals, was loudly hissed."

[Illustration: _"Lectures and Life." From stage to platform_]

For some reason or other, Lola was constantly embroiled with
journalists. Thus, during this Dublin visit she had a passage at arms
with one of them, who had published some damaging criticisms about her
life in Paris. Thereupon, she wrote an angry letter to the editor of
the _Daily Express_. As, however, she was alluding to events that had
taken place nearly fifteen years earlier, her memory was somewhat at
fault. Thus, she insisted that, when Dujarier met his death, she was
living in the house of a Dr. and Mrs. Azan; and also that "the good
Queen of Bavaria wept bitterly when she left Munich."

But, if Lola Montez was not very reliable, the editor of the _Dublin
Daily Express_ was similarly slipshod in his comments. "It is now," he
declared, "well established that Lola Montez was born in 1824, her
father being the son of a baronet."

Crossing from Ireland to England, Lola, prior to appearing in London,
undertook a tour in the provinces. On January 8, 1859, she appeared at
the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, where her subject was "Portraits of
English and American Character." This went down very well, although,
to her disappointment, John Bright declined to